Many passenger vehicles include a parcel shelf located behind the rear passenger seats that extends to the base of the rear window and trunk area. Automakers often utilize the parcel shelf as a mounting platform for components such as stereo speakers. As automakers strive to increase the quality of vehicle sound systems the need has arisen for the installation of larger and/or more speakers in the rear parcel shelf.
Parcel shelves in the current art are typically produced from a single layer of sheet steel in a desired shape and having structural features such as strengthening ribs. Speakers mounted to these parcel shelves are inserted into apertures cut or punched in the sheet material and attached thereto by fasteners such as screws or nuts and bolts. The speakers are accordingly supported only by the sheet material of the parcel shelf. This configuration may provide adequate support for holding the speakers in position, but has a shortcoming in that the parcel shelf may allow the speaker body to move or vibrate during operation. If the speaker body is allowed to move or vibrate the efficiency of the speaker's output is decreased, with a corresponding decrease in the quality of the sound emitted by the speaker. Furthermore, vibration of the speaker body against the parcel shelf can generate unwanted noise which may be bothersome to passengers and can loosen nearby fasteners and connections.
As part of the drive for increased sound quality, automakers are offering a more diverse variety of speakers that require greater structural support than speakers previously offered. For example, current parcel shelf designs may provide adequate support for relatively low power speakers that have frequency responses in the mid- to high-frequency ranges, but such parcel shelves may not be able to adequately support higher-power woofer or subwoofer speakers and prevent the speakers from moving or vibrating in their mounts. These higher-power, low-frequency speakers produce strong vibrations that can cause the speaker body to move if not properly secured and require a more stable and rigid mounting structure than is currently available.
There is a need for a vehicle speaker mounting system that supports a speaker mounted in a rear parcel shelf so as to limit movement or vibration of the speaker body during operation.